Car-coupling



(No Model.)

0. E. SEABURY.

GAR COUPLING. No. 456,858. Patented July 28, 1891.

I'dgl INVENTOI? 5. naw

BYjQ/WQ A TTORNE Y8 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. SEABURY, OF STONY BROOK, NEW YORK.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,858, dated July 28,1891.

Application filed December 20,1890. Serial No. 375,344. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. SEABURY, of Stony Brook, in the county ofSuffolk and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedCar-Coupling, of which the follow ing is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to improvements in car-couplings, and is animprovement on the car-coupling patented to me June 3, 1890, No.429,365; and the invention is intended to provide means forautomatically coupling railway-cars, the special object of theimprovement being to provide means for holding the coupling-link in aperfectly straight position, so that it will be sure to enter thedraw-head of an opposing coupling.

To this end my invention consists in a drawhead having a concave recessin the top and a link having an upwardly-curved spring to fit therecess. This construction will be hereinafter fully described, andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification,

in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inall the figures.

Figure 1 is a broken vertical longitudinal section of the coupling in acoupled position. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same. Fig. 3 isa broken longitudinal section of a single draw-bar with the coupling-pinsupported in an elevated position. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of thedraw-head on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a detail perspectiveview of the coupling-link.

The draw-heads A are supported in a suitable frame-work B on the bottomof the cars Bin the ordinary way, and the draw-heads are provided withthe usual cavities and flaring mouths, and also with coupling-pins O,which move in vertical perforations through the draw-heads in theordinary way. Each draw-head has a plate D hinged to one side thereof inthe upper portion of the cavity and adjacent to the pin 0, so that itwill swing in a recess a of the draw-head, and may be made to extendbeneath the coupling-pin, as best shown in Fig. 3, to support the pin,and the plate has a depending flange D, which closes against the side ofthe draw-head when it is struck by a link, and the plate D is thus swungfrom beneath the pin C, allowing the pin to drop. The draw-head has afinger-hole or recess a on one side at a point opposite the rear end ofthe flange D when said flange is closed against the wall of thedrawhead, and the brakeman may thus place his finger behind the flangeand swing the plate into position to hold the coupling-pin. Thedraw-head is also provided with a perforation a in one side, which isbehind the flange D when the flange is closed against the wall, andthrough this perforation a pin or other similar article may be thrust toswing the flange and plate forward. Instead of using the finger or thepin, the plate may be provided with a handle (1, as indicated by dottedlines in the drawings, and in this case neither the finger-hole norperforation will be needed.

The coupling-link comprises a b1ockE,which is beveled at its outer end,and which is adapted to enter the draw-head, said block having avertical perforation e to receive the coupling-pin, and a link portionE, adapted to enter a draw-head and also to receive a coupling-pin. Thelink is provided with an up- Wardlyextending spring or wing F, which issecured to the block E and extends toward the outer end of the block,and the spring is rounded slightly toward its free end, as best shown inFigs. 4 and 5.

The draw-head is provided in the upper portion of its cavity with aconcave recess A,

.which is located at a point where the upper end of the spring F willfit within it when the link is in position in the draw-head, and it willbe seen that as the recess A is concave or rounded from the side towardthe center and the spring F is also rounded toward the end the pressureof the spring on the walls of the recess will force the end of thespring to the center of the recess, and the link will thus be held in aperfectly straight position, so that it will be sure to enter thedraw-head of an opposing coupling. It will be noticed that while thespring holds the link in a perfectly straight position still the linkmay be swiveled to one side or the other or may be moved vertically, sothat it may be made to enter a draw-head which is higher or lower thanthe one in which it is held.

The coupling operates as follows: The coupling-link is secured in onedraw-head, with the spring F projecting into the recess A, so as to holdit in a straight position, and the pin 0 is raised in the opposingdraw-head and the plate D swung beneath it, and when the couplings cometogether the link will strike the flange D and swing the plate frombeneath the pin and the pin will drop through the link, thus couplingthe cars.

The coupling which I have shown in the drawings and described above issubstantially like the one shown in the patent above referred to, theonly difference being in the means for holding the coupling-link in astraight position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A car-coupling comprising a draw-head having arecess in the top and a link having a spring secured thereon and adaptedto enter the recess, substantially as described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination, with the draw-head having" aconcave recess in its top, of the couplii'lg-link having a springsecured to one side and adapted to enter the recess, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination, with the draw-head having the concave recess in thetop, of the coupling-link having the upwardly-curved spring securedthereto, said spring having its free end rounded, substantially asdescribed. 3o

CHARLES E. SEABURY'. Witnesses:

W. B. SHEBRY, W. P. RAPIER.

